July unrest: Security guard sentenced for shooting dead passerby through window of marked car

A security guard who killed a man during the July unrest in KwaZulu-Natal was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday. 

KwaZulu-Natal NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Joel Fenton Pillay, who drove a marked security car, shot and killed Lindani Mthethwa on 12 July 2021 in Verulam, Durban. 

Ramkisson-Kara said advocate Thabani Buthelezi cited evidence from two eyewitnesses and the location details captured by the car tracking device, which placed Pillay at the scene of the shooting.

"On 12 July 2021, the deceased, Lindani Mthethwa, was walking on Ireland Street in Verulam when Pillay drove past him. Pillay, who was driving a marked vehicle owned by a security company, turned his vehicle around and drove back towards Mthethwa. When he was alongside Mthethwa, he lowered the window of his vehicle and shot him in the head. Mthethwa died on the scene," said Ramkisson-Kara. 

The victim impact statement heard in court, citing statements from Mthethwa's sister, revealed that his family was traumatised. 

Ramkisson-Kara said the court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment due to Pillay being a first-time offender. He was declared unfit to carry or possess a firearm. 

Ramkisson-Kara said the NPA welcomed the sentencing. The NPA said 65 alleged instigators of the unrest are expected to appear in court next month, facing charges including conspiracy to commit public violence, incitement to commit public violence, terrorism, sedition, and conspiracy to commit murder.